rFactor 2 Developer Q&A

We apologize that this took a while to put together.

General Product Questions

How will rFactor be released? Online? Steam?
We have our own online distribution system in development.

What are the minimum specs?
We have not yet completed testing. A non-netburst single core CPU above 3.0GHz with SSE2 would work, but a dual core 2.0GHz CPU would be better. 2GB RAM and either nVidia GeForce 8600 or ATI Radeon x1000 Series with 512MB video RAM will be required to take advantage of some features. rFactor 2 will not run on Windows 98, but will run on Microsoft Windows XP, XP 64bit, Vista and 7.

Will rFactor 2 support multiple CPU/GPUs?
Yes to both.

Have you changed your mind about the user file locations mentioned in a previous interview?
Yes.

Has force feedback been improved?
The force feedback is now much more correct. We are using a separate thread for physics and this has decreased latency. Right now we are working to refine and match for feeling with the new tire model.

Does rFactor 2 support multiple controllers like rFactor did?
Yes.

Has triple screens support been improved?
Yes. We now also support nVidia 3D vision and virtual screen angles can be adjusted.

Does rFactor 2 support many of the oval specific rules and regulations difficult to simulate with rFactor?
There has been some improvement in this area.

What are the different series that are going to be included?
We have been working on assets for several different styles of racing that are in various states of readiness. Some of these may not make the initial release, but those that don't will be added post-release as we did with rF1. Of course, we'll also be enhancing the released series in the future with more cars and tracks; so there is plenty of content to come. The series that are nearest completion and should be ready in time are:

This list is not definitive--there's always the chance we could hold something if we feel it's under par. Likewise, we could end up finishing something we didn't expect.

Modding

Will rFactor 2 be modding friendly like rFactor? What has been done to improve modding? Open script?
Many improvements have been made to make mods easier to find and install. No open script.

Will there be documentation supplied with rFactor 2 or will we have to figure things out ourselves?
Support will be provided and some documents will be provided both with and after the initial release.

How difficult will it be to convert tracks from rFactor to rFactor 2 and be able to make use of the new features available? What about converting without the new features?
Possible, but it will not be as simple as dragging and dropping. Mod groups are going to want to put in some additional effort to take advantage of the new features available for their work.

Are mods going to be easier to install? Can they be packaged?
We are currently testing our new packaging system.

Multiplayer

Will there be an in-game lobby filter to make it easier to find races?
A filter is available but the final criteria is not yet set. You will see server information such as pings for sure.

Will rFactor 2 have a ranking system?
No.

Will racers be more accountable for their actions and can server admins manage them?
An online login system should allow more control.

Can I block someone driving with keyboard from joining my race?
No.

Why is the ability to host a race from within the software being taken out?
To ensure a consistently improved online experience.

Have the mismatch issues found in online games been worked on with rFactor 2?
Yes.

Will there be driver changes?
The fate of this is tied to rejoins (see below).

Can I rejoin a server after being disconnected?
We’ve done some work on this, but it may not be ready for deployment of the initial release.

Can we force tire/part changes in hosting rules like many real-world racing series?
Probably not, but it should eventually be possible to see this information in result exports.

What is the multiplayer client connection limit in a race?
The number of drivers that can join a server at any time depends on how many drivers each specific mod supports (up to 64 most likely). Of course other clients can join as spectators if the server allows them...

Can I voice chat with other racers?
There will be no in-game voice chat. We feel other free programs do this very well and with far more features that we would want to implement.

Has work been done to improve sound such as echoing in tunnels?
We are working on this right now. Both walls and tunnels.

Cars

Can we have glowing/reflective numbers for night racing which is easier than doing it now with rFactor?
No plans for this, but you can do this yourself.

Can cars now make proper wheel to wheel contact?
Yes. We have improved collision detection.

How exactly has the tire model been improved?
The tire model is new and one of the most important features of rFactor 2 which will interact with the new weather and real road models. Real life drivers deal with many changes during an event as they can arrive at any turn and can find themselves with more or less grip than they felt on the previous lap. The tire, track and weather model should allow users to experience many of these changes for the first time.

The tire is now considered to be a separate simulated body to the rim, and the contact patch has a huge increase in processing allowing different and constantly changing levels of heat and wear all around and across the tire. Tires will hold a history of what you’ve done to them and all these factors will give a constantly changing experience in terms of grip, handling and even pit strategy.

The video below gives a basic demonstration of the new tire model and how the contact patch changes shape and holds heat/damage in any abused areas.

Has damage been improved?
We’ve done some work on this but are not yet sure what will be in the initial release. A new feature which may make it would be that paintwork can be scratched/ripped by contact. Tire damage has also been implemented (see above).

When I change tires (or go onto the grass and make them dirty, etc) will the look of the tires change? Will there be visual tire wear?
There will be both physical and visual wear for tires. Dirt and grass pickup not yet decided.

Tracks

Will there be any laser scanned tracks in rFactor 2?
No.

Will there be pit crew animations?
We have a new skinned animation system that allows for the addition of animated pit crews, and while it is our intention to add this it will probably not be included in the initial release. We will most likely ship with a minimalistic pit crew and then build on that until we have a fully functional crew for the many different types of cars we expect required...

Will tracks have scripted events like the crew jumping onto the pitwall for the finish, a firework show on the first lap or spectators leaping out of the way on a hillclimb or rally stage?
Again, scripted animation events are something we have in the pipeline, but most likely won't make the initial release. The plan that has been talked about it to have events that can trigger other events, and so on. Our animated pit crews will depend on these triggered events so we'll HAVE to add them...

Can I set points where the green flag would be waved for start/restarts?
Currently, we have internal triggers that tell the starter/flagmen when, and what type of flag, to wave. We will be expanding the flagmen functionality post-release, so we could probably add trigger-driven events to the system easily enough.

Weather

Will the weather change during a race? Will it affect grip and visual effects as it does?
Yes to both. Weather will affect both your visual and physical experience.

How will the weather effect the drivers view?
There will be fogging, a wet windshield, raindrops and wipers.

A.I.

Can the A.I. in rFactor 2 have personalities so that one driver is perhaps more aggressive than another?
Yes. AI can be setup individually and overall. In fact if you really wanted to, each driver can have a preferred line around a race track. You can make individual drivers better/worse in qualifying versus the race or even give someone a slow reaction speed at the start.

Will A.I. in a slower GT class let a faster car through?
Blue flag code has been improved, AI should move away from the racing line in appropriate situations.

Output

Will more information be in the files that keep track of laptimes, aids used, weather, etc?
We are currently setup to export XML files which contain some information, but we will be moving towards a JSON system which should allow extraction of information at a much greater depth.

Can more information be on the results, like tire compounds, number of pit stops, etc?
The JSON generated information will evolve (see above).

Interesting post, thanks. What about "Modern Endurance Racing (multiple vehicle classes)", which serie will be in rF2? ALMS, LMS, or fictional? just for curiosity
I'm curious about driver change because imho is an important feature (specially for modern endurance racing serie!), and yes, about AI regarding multiple classes too.

Nicely done. Covers some basic questions and for them, it looks promising
Do you plan to cover more questions from the already closed Q&A thread or is it over for them? There are some questions I'd like to ask, which I put already in previous Q&A so if it has not been fully covered yet, then I'll wait until it will be and see if there are answers for my questions.

Many thanks Tim, glad it finally arrived...also I thought you were English? (apologiSe )

Things that strike me from that:

1) The video is decent, love the Heat explanation graphic to show what happens especially in a spin, good description of it too to explain it all. (now queue the moaners noticing no tire smoke!!)
2) Sound section was vague, would like to know whether RF2 is 5.1/7.1, surely ISI know that by now so could've answered that question.
3) Would've liked more info about the AI, glad they move over for Blue Flags but theres a million other queries relating to this area.
4) For all the questions asked and the time its taken this Q&A its abit short winded IMO, answering questions to "can we share setups" are pointless as its obvious thats in the game, more pressing questions would've been better answered and there were tons of them. Yeah take that as a dig if you like (ISI not you personally Tim!), just seems ISI HQ is abit shy about details (with respect as you dont want to give away the best secrets)...heres hoping nearer release we get down to the nitty gritty stuff.

EDIT: seen the 2nd post, will future Q&As touch on the other questions Tim?

EDIT 2 seems my questions on AI are lost in random threads and not the original Q&A one dammit...no wonder they did'nt get answered

Hello
Thank you very nice to read and learn some things.
I would like to ask if any work on cheat stuff for RF 2 memory cheats and such.

Man I can not wait Thank you all at ISI

Ok sorry watched the vid Awesome advancement but it also brings up a question :-(
? will the screen showing the temps be at the top left or can it be moved to a more suttable spot if one wishes.
Ruben M.

Nicely done. Covers some basic questions and for them, it looks promising
Do you plan to cover more questions from the already closed Q&A thread or is it over for them? There are some questions I'd like to ask, which I put already in previous Q&A so if it has not been fully covered yet, then I'll wait until it will be and see if there are answers for my questions.

Go ahead and ask. Some questions were not included as it's not yet known or is actually right in the middle of being finalized.

Originally Posted by MarcG

Many thanks Tim, glad it finally arrived...also I thought you were English? (apologiSe )

Things that strike me from that:

1) The video is decent, love the Heat explanation graphic to show what happens especially in a spin, good description of it too to explain it all. (now queue the moaners noticing no tire smoke!!)
2) Sound section was vague, would like to know whether RF2 is 5.1/7.1, surely ISI know that by now so could've answered that question.
3) Would've liked more info about the AI, glad they move over for Blue Flags but theres a million other queries relating to this area.
4) For all the questions asked and the time its taken this Q&A its abit short winded IMO, answering questions to "can we share setups" are pointless as its obvious thats in the game, more pressing questions would've been better answered and there were tons of them. Yeah take that as a dig if you like (ISI not you personally Tim!), just seems ISI HQ is abit shy about details (with respect as you dont want to give away the best secrets)...heres hoping nearer release we get down to the nitty gritty stuff.

EDIT: seen the 2nd post, will future Q&As touch on the other questions Tim?

EDIT 2 seems my questions on AI are lost in random threads and not the original Q&A one dammit...no wonder they did'nt get answered

I am definitely English. I have, however, worked with and communicated with the USA so much that I spell most things in US English now. Watching IndyCar and NASCAR hasn't helped! (Trunk, Hood, etc!)

1. The new tire model isn't linked to some effects.
2. That's one of those things that we're right in the middle of.
3. Hopefully this will be refined a lot more and soon. Beta testing will also clean it up a lot I am sure.
4. See my reply to LesiU.

Your edit - some might form a Q&A, others we may answer as and when. But like a lot of the posts on here if it's too early, an unknown or we want to keep it a surprise for a marketing effort or something, it may still not get an answer.

- Many people drives touring and GT cars. But there is an important missing point concerning these cars : blinker. Do you implement working blinkers/turn indicators ?
- Would the memory consumption be improved/reduced ? with 40 drivers, rf1 need a lot of memory.
- for endurance racing, planning to implement a re-connect for the race mode ? so that we don't need to use training sessions and self programed tools

Interesting post, thanks. What about "Modern Endurance Racing (multiple vehicle classes)", which serie will be in rF2? ALMS, LMS, or fictional? just for curiosity
I'm curious about driver change because imho is an important feature (specially for modern endurance racing serie!), and yes, about AI regarding multiple classes too.

I don't think I have seen a fictional. GT-GT2 class I believe, no specific real world series.

Hello
Thank you very nice to read and learn some things.
I would like to ask if any work on cheat stuff for RF 2 memory cheats and such.

Man I can not wait Thank you all at ISI

Ok sorry watched the vid Awesome advancement but it also brings up a question :-(
? will the screen showing the temps be at the top left or can it be moved to a more suttable spot if one wishes.
Ruben M.

I'm not actually even sure if that will be visible to users of the software. May just be more for development. The readout is bigger on this video that it is normally also.

Can the AI get a black flag or a DQ?
Will the simulator be able to penalize a driver who constantly rams other drivers?
Will the simulator be able to penalize a driver who rides the wall at full throttle?
Will there be a separate DQ flag?
Will the simulator be able to penalize/warn a driver that is causing a racing hazard (eg: parts falling off the car, below minimum racing speed, dangerous maneuvers)?
Will red flags be implemented? If so, can they be skipped through until a few seconds before it's lifted?
Can the server be programmed to hold each session on separate days (real time)?

EDIT:
Will tracks/series tell a player if the series/track is fictional or real?